1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an article of clothing that can be used as an air filter and, more specifically to a bra which is normally used as an every day article of attire by women which can be used in an emergency as a face mask to filter contaminated air.
2. Description of Related Art
At the present time terrorists are increasing their activities in many countries of the world. The attacks can be in the form of explosive devices and/or gas. One such attack was the use of gas in the Japanese underground rail system. Another attack was the use of explosives on the rail system in the United Kingdom. Still another terrorist attack that produced large amounts of contaminated air over a vast area was the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.
In the attack on the World Trade Center, two buildings, each over 100 floors, collapsed creating a huge dust cloud that quickly spread over a large area and contained many different undesirable and harmful contaminates such as asbestos, soot, smoke, vapors of various chemicals, and the like.
During the World Trade Center attack people tried to cover their faces with handkerchiefs or they tried to enter local stores to avoid breathing the contaminated air.
An item of use that could have been used as a face mask to cover the mouth and nose of a person to prevent a user from breathing contaminated air during these attacks could have been the cup of a bra. Most women prefer to have some sort of breast support during the day regardless of whether the type of dress is casual, semi-formal, sporty, etc.
An example of a bra that can be used as a face mask is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,627 to Bodnar which discloses a garment device convertible to one or more facemasks wherein the garment device has a plurality of detachable cup sections. Each of the cup sections has a filter device, an inner portion which is positioned adjacent to the inner area of the user's chest, and an outer portion which is positioned adjacent to the outer area of the user's chest. The garment device has at least one securing device detachably coupling the inner portions of the cup sections to one another, and the garment device also has at least one other securing device attached to the outer portion of at least one of the cup sections. The other securing device is operable to: detachably couple the outer portions of the cup regions to one another and to each one of the cup sections, attach the outer portion of said cup region to the inner portion of said cup region after said cup region is detached from the other cup region, thereby converting the bra cup to a plurality of facemasks.
A problem that has not been addressed with the above mentioned patent is the air leakage that is present in the nasal area. The masks must accommodate a wide variety of facial sizes and configurations and, therefore, the periphery of the mask does not always tightly engage and seal against the bridge of the user's nose. Consequently, the wearer can be exposed to contaminated air that leaks between the periphery of the mask and the face.
What is needed is a bra that can be converted into a simple respiratory face mask, particularly with respect to a relatively simple yet highly effective face mask construction which is easy to carry in an inconspicuous way, is always available and ready for use in almost any emergency, can substantially reduce the inhalation of contaminated air and/or gases, and can alert the user of exposure to radioactive particles and/or chemical contaminants.